China Square Food Centre set to be redeveloped into hotel; more homes to be built in the CBD, Kallang and River Valley

[SINGAPORE] A site along Cross Street in the Central Business District has been earmarked for redevelopment for residential use, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The land parcel is being proposed for residential with commercial at first storey use, with a gross plot ratio of 6.3. The empty field located at Telok Ayer MRT station previously housed the Market Street Interim Hawker Centre.

China Square Food Centre, which is located in Telok Ayer Street nearby, may be redeveloped into a hotel.

One of the land parcels there will see its zoning change from commercial use to hotel use with a gross plot ratio of 7. Several other land parcels which are open spaces or parks will also be made available for hotel and commercial use.

“A new hotel in the CBD, especially with public spaces, will liven up the city, particularly at nights and on weekends when the office crowd is away,” said

Elsewhere in the city centre, a reserve site along Mohamed Sultan Road will be rezoned to residential with commercial use on the first storey. A gross plot ratio of 2.8 has been proposed for the River Valley area plot.

The plot includes a transitional office site sold in 2010 with a 15-year lease, said Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia senior director of data analytics.

Land along the Kallang River is expected to be intensified for residential use. The proposed amendments will allow more people to live in central locations and near existing transport nodes, URA said.

Christine Sun, Orangetee Group’s chief researcher and strategist, said that the plot can yield an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-to-order flats or around 1,400 to 1,500 condominium units.

Meanwhile, a reserve site near the Woodlands South MRT is being set aside for residential use. An estimated 600 to 700 units could be built on the site, added Huttons’ Lee.

A white site at Dover Road which was subject to detailed planning will be made available for residential with commercial use on the first storey, so as to enable more people to live near existing employment centres and transport nodes, URA said.

A residential site with a health and medical care zone is also being proposed for Bedok North. URA said that the upcoming development will support demand for housing and improve residents’ accessibility to health and medical care amenities.